


Future Rising

by VictoriannWings



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alone, Erwin Week 2016, F/M, Future, Hope, Humanity, M/M, eruri - Freeform, erwin week day 2, erwinweek, happiness, offer up your hearts, sunrise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-12
Updated: 2016-10-12
Packaged: 2018-08-22 01:37:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8267884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VictoriannWings/pseuds/VictoriannWings
Summary: "At sunrise everything is luminous but not clear." -Norman Maclean  Erwin promised the stars a future, vowed with a vehemence that stained his heart, eyes wide, that one day nobody would need to die in such futility and despair.





	

Of course he was happy on quiet days when the four of them settled down in Erwin's office, Hange's voice a musical chatter in the background, curling up with Levi on the couch, watching Mike run his hands through Nanaba's hair. Erwin couldn't think of better times than having his little family all in one place, safe, cozy, eyes lulled, watching Levi's chest rise and fall as he snoozed in Erwin's arms, as Hange curled up with them later, once both the scientist and the Commander had worked themselves to exhaustion, as Mike and Nanaba wrapped themselves up in quiet arms on the other couch. 

Of course he was happy as he returned from the Capital, budget reports in hand and new funding secured; of course he was happy when his paperwork was finished, when deadlines were met, when Hange turned in their reports on time. A certain solidity filled him up, hardened his resolve, helped him stand tall, when he knew his paperwork stood stacked, finished, in his office, on his desk, in the mail, in the hands of those who awaited it. 

And still of course he was happy with Levi, in their brief moments alone, in their brief moments in public: an exchange of glances, or words passed unspoken between them; a quick nod or even signals on the battlefield, out in the open, in the trees, amongst giant limbs and steam and blood. Erwin knew he could count on Levi for a thousand things he didn't know he needed. He knew that no matter how much distance spanned between them, he could reach out and feel Levi, warm and blazing, an incredible presence in his heart. Across the fields he would catch a glimpse of those silvery flashing eyes and find peace again, center himself, and rage onward. 

In bed those silver eyes collected all the light in the room and made Erwin melt. Alone they were one; he could feel himself melt into that small, fluid, toned body, the scent of their leather harnesses and Levi's lemon soap changing him, igniting him, so that all the aches and pains of his work and bent backs over desks too small for him washed away, left with golden warmth and trust. His skin belonged against Levi's, and that kind of happiness bloomed into its own category in itself. 

But Erwin's truest form of happiness came rarest of all: he liked to be alone.

Not alone with Levi, not alone with his paperwork, even if those were his two greatest loves, besides humanity itself. But alone on a spire built into the most remote part of the roof, when 4 o'clock turns into 5, into 6, into the sunrise. Sometimes he would take a mug of tea or steaming coffee and watch the stars turn into pink and red streaks and golden rays. Others he would lie on the hard, beaten roof slats and let the chilly air turn his cheeks pink, dozing or very much awake. He counted the stars, too, promised each one of them silently that humanity would have its turn. That he would give each sacrifice a name, never forgotten. That he would not breathe his last breath until he knew humanity could rest. 

Erwin promised the stars a future, vowed with a vehemence that stained his heart, eyes wide, that one day nobody would need to die in such futility and despair. He vowed that he would see future generations make homes outside of the walls. 

Sometimes it was specific: Nile and Marie would take their children to a cottage outside of the woods and Erwin would visit them often, tell them tales of roaring titans, teach them how to use play swords. Or promising silently to a little red star and a gold star beside it, that even if he hadn't known when Isabel and Farlan were alive, Erwin loved Levi and would give every drop of blood in his body to protect Levi and give him everything he wanted. 

Other times, the words failed to take shape, just a general impression in his mind of a future where nobody died at the jaws of the titans. He let his eyes close but saw them on the inside of his eyelids, burning a window through them until he felt like everywhere he looked he saw the potential world they could be living in. 

This elation carried him. One foot in front of the other, Erwin strode through his life in a confidant stance and challenged all who challenged the future of humanity. Blue eyes turned clear as the sky, as the wind, as the dreams he poured forth, colourful goals depicted in flourished speech after tactical declaration. Commander Erwin Smith inspired everywhere he walked and he capitalised upon that. Inspiration caught like wildfire, and that kind of happiness doubled and quadrupled, knowing that when a cadet died, when a friend died, when another sacrificed themselves for humanity, they would not be forgotten, they too would have a hand in this future world where no one would get swallowed alive.


End file.
